The day the music died
by BatFlashAquaven11
Summary: A telling of the events that lead to the Justice League episode 'A Better World'. What led to Superman killing President Luther? How did the Lord's Flash die?


This wasn't supposed to happen. None of this was ever supposed to happen. Luther was never supposed to be president. Flash- _no_ , Wally. Wally West had been his name. He was never supposed to die.

He was young. The youngest of the Lords by far. Burdened by immense responsibility that he was never forced to take on, but he chose to do so. Yes, he was immature and reckless at times, but his intentions were always pure. All he ever wanted to do was help others. He just wanted to make the world better. He deserved better.

He deserved better than any of this. He deserved better than his life, which had been tarnished with abuse and abandonment from a young age, they'd been shocked and horrified to find out. You would have never known from how he chose to behave and carry himself; always upbeat and smiling. He deserved better than his death, unjust and premature as it was. Bruce had only been able to find one relative. An aunt, Iris West-Allen. A widow. He didn't want to have be the one to tell her that her only nephew was gone. Did she even know he was the Flash?

Clark had been given a lot of titles over the years. Superman, Man of Steel, Big Blue, Boy Scout. One he'd never been able to earn was "Fastest Man Alive." That one always belonged to Flash. He'd proved it time and time again. And Clark never wanted the nickname, because him being the Fastest Man Alive would mean that Flash _wasn't_ alive. Regardless, it was his now.

After losing his entire family, his entire _race,_ J'onn wasn't sure he'd ever find a place where he belonged again. The fates were with him though, and he found a new family here on Earth after helping to save them from the invaders that destroyed his own people. He was willing to risk his own life to protect his new family. Wally was a part of that new family, always first to reach out and help him learn earth customs. One day, shared an Oreo with J'onn and next thing he knew, Wally had to run to get more after the Martian had eaten the entire pack. J'onn had always sensed some hidden sadness from the speedster's subconscious, but he'd never asked about it. Figured it would come to light someday if it was important.

John and Hawkgirl hadn't gotten off on the right foot with Flash. Both coming from military backgrounds, they were very strict and serious; the opposite of Flash. Once spending time working together and getting to know him, he managed to break through their tough exteriors. Flash had been willing to give his life to prove John's innocence in front of an intergalactic jury, and that was enough to prove that he wasn't some selfish kid who was just in it for the glory. John considered Flash to be his best friend, and Hawkgirl viewed him as a sibling, a little brother.

Diana hadn't spent much time with men before. She'd grown up being taught that they were arrogant, dishonest, and greedy. But then she'd come here to help in the invasion, and the men she worked with were nothing of the sort. They were selfless, hardworking, passionate, and determined. Wally had flirted with her at first, but stopped as soon as he noticed it made her uncomfortable. Once she spent more time around him and saw that was his personality, and it fit him well, she told him that it was okay. He was willing to stand up to her mother, Queen of the Amazons, in her defense. He wouldn't let fear stop him from standing up for what he believed was right. He truly had one of the purest hearts she had ever seen, and Diana was willing to fight beside him for the rest of their lives.

If only she'd known how short that would be.

Bruce...well, for Bruce, it was a little different. He'd known Flash before the Imperium invasion. Sure, Clark did too, but not as well as him. While Clark knew that their Flash was the former Kid Flash, and the Flash from about 10 years ago was gone, he didn't know his identity. Bruce and Barry had to be more open after Robin and Kid Flash had met and hit it off right away. During his adolescent years, Wally spent many nights at the Wayne Manor. After the deaths of Dick's parents and Wally's mom, and his father's abuse, along with the fact that they were both living double lives as superheros, both he and Barry were just glad they found a friend. That had been years and years and years ago, and Wally would always hold a special place in Bruce's heart. He doesn't know when exactly he developed feelings for the young man (who had most definitely been a man now, 25 years old to be exact) but he never planned to act on them. Too many responsibilities, too many distractions, too many things that could go wrong.

Things went wrong anyway.

Looking back, it had all happened relatively fast. There was no suspense, no drama. One minute he was alive, the next he wasn't. They'd received a tip that some of Luther's guys would be here to wrap up a deal. The seven of them were split up in three groups, searching an old abandoned warehouse for supposed thugs. After a few minutes of finding nothing, Superman was just about to call for them to regroup when the unmistakable sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the nearly empty building. The harsh noise caused Hawkgirl to flinch, while Clark immediately checked their surroundings. Once confirming they were in the clear, he reached for his comm.

"Anybody got a source on that?" He asked.

"My sensors read that it came from the second floor, east wing." replied Batman from his spot on the roof. J'onn, who was standing behind him, left to investigate, knowing that the third group, consisting of Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and The Flash was stationed near that location.

"Diana, everything okay down there?" Superman asked, expecting some variation of the word yes. Instead, he got the usually calm, collected voice of Diana, shouting in a panic. In the background, he could hear John yelling as well. He couldn't make out exactly what she was saying at first, but he managed to pick out a few key words. "SHOT", "FLASH", and "BLEEDING" being among them, and those were enough to have had heart dropping in his chest and send them all rushing towards the second floor. In an effort to get there quicker, Superman took the direct path and flew straight through the concrete floor/ceilings of four floors, leaving gaping holes in his wake. When he reached the second, his eyes quickly found Diana. She was kneeling, facing away from him, hovering over something. No, some _one_. Someone was down. The sheer amount of red was enough to tell him that it was Flash. Then, to his horror, he realized that most the red wasn't from his uniform. It was blood. Spilling out of the wound in his upper chest and onto the damp warehouse floor beneath him. Diana's delicate looking hands were applying pressure to the wound, trying to stop or at least slow the flow of blood. She'd pulled his mask off at some point, likely so she could see his eyes and try to keep him focused and alert. This was the first time any of them, except maybe Batman had seen what the speedster looked like. Usually they would respect his wishes for his identity to remain a secret, but right now the only concern was keeping him alive. A secret identity is no good if you're dead. Diana was shouting his name, over and over again, voice cracking and breaking as his skin rapidly grew paler and his eyes became unfocused. She let out a sort of broken sob and pulled his limb, bloody body into her lap, cradling him in her arms. He held him tightly against her, shamelessly weeping into his fire-red hair, mourning the loss of a brother. J'onn felt his mental connection to Wally fade away just as Green Lantern flew back into the room. He looked angry, but it quickly turned to sorrow when he took in the scene. He turned to J'onn for confirmation, praying to God that he was mistaken.

"He's gone" The Martian said solemnly. The pain he was feeling was a familiar one, but it had been a long, long time time he felt it. John's shoulder couldn't help but sag as he crossed the room, seeing his best friend's eyes for the first time. They were green, but lifeless. He couldn't help but wonder how they would've looked even twenty minutes ago. So full of life, they probably sparkled. Tears were welling up in his own eyes as he crouched down beside Diana. Gently, he placed a hand on her shoulder. Her tear filled eyes met his, and another round of sobs hit her. Carefully, she laid her friend back on the cold ground. John bit his lip to hold back a sob and took a deep breathe to steady himself as he reached up and closed the green eyes of his friend. This was so unfair. Those eyes would never open again.

Slowly he stood, finding Superman trying his best to comfort a distressed Amazon. She was covered in blood and still crying, looking nothing like the strong warrior she was. Clark was crying as well, his eyes unable to leave the body of their friend on the floor. He was using every type of vision, every power he had to check. Hoping, praying that the Martian was wrong, that he missed something, that there was something they could do. There was nothing. GL wrapped his arms around Hawkgirl as he spoke.

"It was Luther." Clark's head snapped up, glaring.

"He was here?" He demanded. GL and Diana both nodded.

"His guards caught us off guard...Then he swooped in and...", His eyes briefly went to Flash's body...he couldn't bring himself to think of it as a corpse. "I tried chasing after him, but..."

"It's okay, John...We'll get him." Shayera assured him, rubbing a hand up and down his arm. Clark's face turned murderous, John thought for a moment he saw a glimpse of red in them.

"He's not getting away with this. Not this time."

Batman, who had remained in the doorway of the room, finally snapped out of his thoughts. Flash was dead. Wally was dead. The man he loved was dead. He hadn't even gotten to tell him. Not that he had planned on it. But now, it's all he wanted to do and he would never get the chance. Another regret to add to the already exhaustingly long list. What would he tell Dick?

It took all his years of training and holding back emotions to keep himself in check as he walked passed his remaining teammates to the still redhead. As carefully as he could, he gathered him up in his arms, paying no mind the the blood that was soaking into his suit. Wally was usually so warm, he remembered once on a mission in the Arctic, he hadn't even worn a coat. He was perfectly comfortable in jus this spandex, while the temperature had dropped well below zero. The rest of the team had taken turns standing next to him in order to keep themselves warm. Now, though, he was cold. And still. So very still. Another thing that Flash never was. He was always moving, someway, somehow. Not now. Not a vibration, not a heartbeat, not a breath. Bruce managed to make it passed the others and through the doorway before a tear slipped from under his cowl, landing an inch away from the bloodied uniform logo.

Lost and unsure, the rest of the team slowly followed him out of the warehouse and back to the javelin.

 **ooOOooOOooOOooOOoo**

The tension in the Watchtower could've been cut with a knife. The remaining six members of the Justice Lords were grieving, unsure of how to discuss the elephant in the room. They'd never lost one of their own before, not like this. Finally, they were gathered around the conference table, trying with all their might to focus on the mission and not the glaringly empty seat between Green Lantern and Batman. Hawkgirl was doing he best to hold back tears. John's eyes were glued to the table, Batman's to the vacant chair. The silence was broken by Superman, his solemn expression quickly turning to one of anger and determination. He gave orders and positions for J'onn, Hawkgirl, and GL for tomorrow's plan.

"What about the rest of you?" J'onn questioned, though he sensed he already knew the answer. Superman clenched his fist tightly, resting it on the table.

"We're going to the White House..I'm going after Luther." The rest of the team exchanged skeptical looks. Hawkgirl was the only once to voice her concerns.

"Do you honestly think that is what he would want? For us to take revenge...? I don't."

Superman stood, towering over her even from across the table.

"We gave him chance after chance, and look where that got us," he glanced towards to empty seat at the conference table. Maybe it was the grief and anger for their friend's murder, but the rest of the team felt their concerns slipping away. They were ready to jump on board with this plan, crazy and out of character as it may be.

"He'll never change and this was the final straw. He's going to pay for what he's done."


End file.
